


Stitch the Gaps that Destiny Assumed

by broadwait



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Squip, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Swearing, everyone's in theater, im bad at tags lmao, jeremy/michael and brooke/chloe is just background tbh, mostly Jake's pov but sometimes Rich's, rich is a small buff boi and jake is a tall stressed boi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2019-01-25 16:40:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12536332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/broadwait/pseuds/broadwait
Summary: Jake just wants to go get through high school with his friends but this soulmate business is really throwing a wrench in his plansAKA Jake sees his soulmate (kinda) but doesn't know who it is and it sucks





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty so this is a soulmate au where you don't see colors till you're eyes meet with you're soulmate. Takes place approximately the same time/grade as canon but Rich and Jake don't know each other to begin with. Idk how often I'll update but I'll try not to make it too long between, and I have a bit of this written already so a couple chapters might go up at the same time. Oh also Rich has a lisp but goodness, I'm not writing it lmao that's too much for me. I hope I wasn't too awful at the characterization and I hope you like it! Kudos and comments keep me alive lol. Unbetaed so let me know if there are any mistakes!
> 
> Title from Hiding by Modern Baseball. Hmu on tumblr @ justfuckingchillbro

Jake wasn’t usually the nervous type. Jake usually didn’t care what people thought of him. But he also didn’t usually have to talk in front of the entire school. 

When he joined student council it was mostly because all of his friends were joining. He didn’t realize that they would actually make him like, do things. But through the course of setting up activities and events, he somehow got stuck with the task of mc-ing the homecoming pep rally. It wasn’t like he was nervous about talking to people, it was just the amount of people that he had to talk to. If he fucked up now, everyone would see it. So he was a little nervous, but really, who could blame him?

Brooke apparently could blame him. 

“Jake, you’re freaking out over nothing.” They’re sitting across from each other at their lunch table. Chloe is sitting next to Brooke, half listening, but mostly stealing Jake’s food. “It’s going to be fine, you’re good at this! That’s why we signed you up for it.” Jake sighs.

“You miss one meeting…”

“And all of us had already signed up to do things. You were the only one left, and that was the last available job,” Chloe interjects. Brooke shoots her a look.

“Chloe! We agreed to tell him that he was best for it.”

“No, you and Jenna agreed. I wanted to tell the truth.”

“You’re lucky we’re soulmates or I’d be really mad at you.”

“But it’s a good thing we are ‘cause you looovvveee meeee.”

Chloe leans in real close next to Brooke, who just laughs and puts her arm around her. Jake rolls his eyes. Chloe and Brooke had met their freshman year. Jake was with them when they first saw each other. Chloe had practically screamed. Their lives were colorful and vibrant. Jake had yet to meet his soulmate, but that really wasn’t much of a surprise. Some people didn’t even meet their's. Although he hoped he’d meet them one day, he was pretty okay with his life being in grey scale. It’s all he’d ever known. He turns to Jenna, right as she sits down next to him

“Hey Jen, where you been?”

“Some freshman were fighting in the bathroom, I couldn’t just leave. So what’s going on with you guys?” Brooke looks over from making heart eyes at Chloe.

“Jake is nervous and pissy because we’re making him MC for the pep rally.”

Jenna looks at him, confused. “Really? I mean, I figured you wouldn’t care. You’d be the best at it out of all of us.”

“Chloe already told him that we stuck him with the leftovers.”

“Chloe, you bitch.”

Chloe shrugs. “He deserved to know the truth.”

Jenna rolls her eyes. “Okay well we might’ve done that, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to do badly. Plus, you have everything you need to say written down.”

Jake takes out the paper from his pocket and unfolds it. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I just don’t want to fuck up in front of everyone.” He skims the words. They were mostly intros to other people talking. Most of the pep rally was going to be music and cheering anyway, but before the principal and administration talked, he’d have to briefly calm everyone down. He really only had to talk like 4 times. He sighs, putting the paper back into his pocket.

“If I choke up there, you guys better be ready to cover me.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Chloe says, “but you’re going to be fine.” The rest of lunch went quickly, and the pep rally was less prominent in his mind. When the bell rang and they all headed to their next classes, he was almost able to focus. 

But the last period before the rally comes all too quickly. He's watching the clock and bouncing his leg. He has to leave a bit early to help set up and he can’t sit still. He just wants this to be over with. Soon enough he's able to leave the classroom and heads down to the gym. Jenna and Brooke are there already. 

“Hey guys, what are you doing,” he asks.

“Blowing up balloons to scatter around the gym floor, wanna help?” Jake nods. He grabs a handful of what he assumed were colorful balloons and started working. As he blows up balloons, he watches two other guys set up the speakers, one wearing a striped shirt and the other wearing a hoodie.

“Who are they?” He asks, nodding in their direction. 

“Drama kids I think. They’re like, techies or whatever. They’re just setting up sound for us,” Brooke answers. 

“Their names are Jeremy and Michael,” Jenna addes. The boys were on the other side of the gym, talking to each other and untangling cables. Chloe shows up soon and they decide to go over the order of things. This inevitably dissolves into them just talking and the actual task being forgotten. Eventually the techies come up behind them.

“Hey, um, who’s the MC?” one asks, a bit tentatively. His friend in the hoodie stood next to him. Jake smiles.

“I am.” The boy in the hoodie hands him a microphone. He switches it on and off for Jake.

“This is how you turn it on, and we already did a soundcheck but if you want to make sure it’s on before you start talking, please just say something into it. Don’t tap the mic, it damages the equipment. You have the red mic, and the green mic goes to whoever is speaking next.” He hands a second mic to Jake. Jake stares down at them

“Uhh, I can’t exactly…” the boy’s eyes go a little wide in realization.

“Colorblind, right.” He turns to the other boy. “Jeremy, can you go get me some masking tape and a sharpie?”

The other guy- Jeremy- nods and heads over towards some boxes by the cables. 

“ _That would make this one Michael _,” Jake thinks.__

__Jeremy comes back over with a roll of tape and a sharpie. Michael takes back the mics and rips off a couple of pieces of tape, sticking them to the mics. He takes the sharpie and writes something on the tape before handing the mics back to Jake. They’re now labeled with numbers._ _

__“Okay so mic one is yours and mic two is for the other speakers,” he explains._ _

__“Cool, thanks.” Michael nods and starts to walk back over towards the speakers with Jeremy. Jake turns back to his friends_ _

__Jenna tilts her head and stares at the pair as they leave. “Do you guys ever think about joining theater? Maybe not for the acting, but for like, costumes or something,” she asks._ _

__“No, I think you bring enough drama to the group,” Chloe answers. Jenna punches her playfully in the arm._ _

__“You’re the one breaking all our student council agreements.”_ _

__“Oh my god, I didn’t agree to that! You and Brooke didn’t involve me in that decision!!”_ _

__They bicker and joke around for a bit until an announcement for classrooms to start heading to the gym interrupted them._ _

__“Well, here we go,” Jenna says._ _

__The students and teachers soon begin to roll into the gym. As everyone files in and to sits down on the bleachers, Jake can feel the anxiety growing in his stomach. He turns away, determined not to look at them until he absolutely had to. He feels a hand on his shoulder. Brooke gives him a smile._ _

__“It’s going to be fine,” She says, giving his shoulder a little squeeze. He nods and smiles back, trying to push down his nervousness. A few minutes pass before the principal tells him he’s good to start. He pulls the piece of paper out of his pocket before turning around and turning on the mic. He looks over the paper_ _

__“Alright guys, lets try and get quiet for a second,” he says into the mic without looking up. He reads over the first intro again as people start to quiet down and teachers begin to shush those who are still being loud. When the room turned to just a dull roar he looks up, plastering on a smile to mask his anxiety. “Alright! Everybody excited for homecoming?” The room becomes loud again with cheering. Jake lets his eyes scan over the crowd. As the cheering calms down a bit, he glances down at his paper and back up again before speaking. “Okay, so we’re going to start this off with-”_ _

__The crowd is bright and the walls are vibrant and everything is beautiful. He can’t put a name to any of the colors he’s seeing but he can’t stop looking at them. How could he have lived without this for so long? He stops looking at the colors and starts looking back at the crowd. Holy shit. Holy shit, he just saw his soulmate._ _

__His eyes bounce from face to face. He hadn’t really been looking at anyone, he was just scanning the crowd. He looks over to Brooke, who’s motioning for him to go on, concern on her face. God, her hair is so…bright. He snaps out of his stare and looks back at his paper. His normal, black and white paper. He clears his throat._ _

__“We’re going to start this off with a few words from Principal Boyce!” He says before turning off his mic and letting Mr. Boyce take the floor. Jake quickly walks over to Chloe, Brooke, and Jenna. They’re looking at him with confusion spelled out all over their faces._ _

__“Jake, are you okay,” Jenna asks. Jake’s grinning so hard his face is starting to hurt._ _

__“Guys, you’re not going to believe what just fucking happened.”_ _


	2. Chapter 2

“Okay but dude definitely saw his soulmate like, mid pep rally.”

“Michael, he definitely did not.”

“He did! Jeremy, I don’t know what I looked like when I first saw you, but you were just like he was, looking everywhere and grinning like that. Plus, he was sooo out of it. You can’t tell me that he didn’t see his soulmate then and there.”

Rich, Michael, and Jeremy are chilling in Michael’s basement playing Mario Kart. Rich isn’t paying much attention to what they’re saying because he’s focused on Trying To Fucking Win. It is the last lap and he’s just starting to finally get a little bit of a lead on Michael after battling for first for two laps. He could practically taste the finish line

“Rich, you’re fucked, dude.”

“What?” was all Rich manages to get out before being blue shelled into Hell. Well, more like 5th place, but it might as well have been Hell. “Which one of you fucks was it.”

Jeremy and Michael laugh as they drop their controller in their laps, having crossed the finish line. 

“It must’ve been one of the coms, man,” Jeremy says before getting up. “I’m getting a Pepsi, do you guys want one?”

“Yeah, grab me one please,” Rich says and then sighs. “What were you guys going on about.”

“Oh that Jake guy from the pep rally like, 100% saw his soulmate during the pep rally,” Michael says. Jeremy comes back into the room holding two Pepsis. 

“No, he didn’t,” Jeremy said. Michael grabbed his arm before he sat down, flashing him a smile.

“Want to get me a Pepsi, my love? My one and only? Bestest boyfriend in the whole world?” Michael grins. 

“I hate you,” Jeremy sighs as he walked out of the room. Michael turns back to Rich, still smiling.

“No but he definitely did.” Rich gives him an amused smile before looking down at his phone. 

Rich had never had an epiphany of color. He was born with colored sight. He didn’t usually care that much, it was just who he was. It wasn’t unheard of, but with most cases it meant that they didn’t have a soulmate. While it wasn’t something he particularly wanted, he was pretty okay with that. There was a time during his freshman year when he was really depressed and didn’t have any friends and his mom had just left and his dad was drunk nearly constantly that he felt utterly and completely alone. He didn’t even have a soulmate to stay alive for. He was so suicidal before he met Michael and Jeremy. They walked the same way home everyday and one day just decided to say hi. They basically saved his life, and he was so lucky to have them. They’d been friends ever since. Sure, sometimes he felt like a third wheel them but he was still just happy to be around. They included him in almost everything.

“Who was the guy again? Jake Dillinger?” Rich asks. He’d heard about him but had never met him personally.

“Yeah,” Jeremy replies, sitting down on the couch.

“Isn’t he like, a massive douche?” 

“He used to be but apparently last year he did ecstasy and had some weird epiphany and now he’s pretty chill.” 

Rich laughs. “That’s a pretty unique way to start being nice to people, good for him though.” 

Rich had gone through a similar transformation two years prior. A month or two after they’d become friends, Jeremy and Michael told Rich that they were soulmates. At first Rich was...less than accepting. It wasn’t a way he wanted to feel, it was just the rhetoric his dad had shoved down his throat since he was little. Hell, he’d already realized he was bi at that point. It was just the fear of his dad, of what he’d been told all his life. What made him confront his actions was the fact that he’d unintentionally been a really huge dick to Michael and Jeremy. They were his best friends and he didn’t want to lose them. He worked really hard to unlearn his homophobic behaviors, and while he was still working on it a bit, he was so much better than before.

They settle in for another round of Mario Kart, which Rich ends up winning, fueled by pure spite. After that they switched around games for a bit, going from smash to mario party and even, briefly, wii sports, before they eventually ended up on a single player game. Jeremy sits with Michael’s head in his lap, stroking his hair as they chilled and watch Rich play Splatoon. It was a weird random thing that Rich was really good at but also loved. He’d buy a switch and Splatoon 2 in a heartbeat if he had the money. 

“Rich, you’re losing.”

“Wow, thanks for the stellar insight Jeremy, couldn’t tell. God, my shoulders really hurt from CARRYING THIS FUCKING TEAM,” he shouts.

The match ends and they lose. Rich is so fed up with the game at that point that he just puts down his controller and stares at the screen. The music for the lobby plays on repeat, taunting him.

“Fucking people, don’t know how to play. Fucking bad servers and shit,” he mutters.

Jeremy chuckles, his head leaned back on the couch but his hand still tangled in Michael’s hair. His eyes are closed, and Michael is verging on sleep. Rich looks over at them, a pang of jealousy in his chest. He’s fine with not having a soulmate, he really is. Just sometimes… sometimes he wants someone to run their fingers through his hair. He wants to fall asleep on someone’s lap and know that he belongs there. Jeremy opens one eye in his direction and he quickly breaks off his stare, looking down at his feet, face a bit red. Jeremy just smiles that sad sympathetic smile of his.

“Buddy, I’m sure you’ll find someone someday, soulmate or not. You’re not unlovable Rich.”

Rich turns his head to look at him. Michael’s eyes are cracked open a bit in a sleepy daze. 

“Yeah man, if I wasn’t so gay for Jeremy I’d totally be into you.” Jeremy smacks Michael’s arm playfully, laughing under his breath. Rich gives them a little smile, one that doesn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I appreciate it but there’s no conceivable way you two would ever not be soulmates. And it’s fine, I’m fine, I just. I wonder what it feels like is all.” He stares down at the gamepad in his hand. Maybe there was someone out there who could make him feel safe, normal. But until then it was just him and his friends, and he’s happy with that. He has to be. He feels a hand on his shoulder. From the fact that it’s cold as ice, he figures it’s Jeremy.

“I hope you get to feel it one day. You deserve it man.”

They all get quiet after that, sitting in a pretty comfortable silence. When it gets late they invite Rich join their cuddle pile and they all fall asleep, warm and soft inside. Rich figures that even if it hurt a bit, he could live with this. He would live with this. He dreams of floating in space, weightless, with no responsibilities or obligations. It’s so cold that he can’t tell the difference between hot and cold. He floats, and everything is okay.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter ended up being really long lol whoops

Jake doesn’t go to homecoming. Jake doesn’t even go to the homecoming game. He goes home after school, but not before a lengthy freakout from both him and his friends, as well as a crash course in what colors are. They're shocked, hardly making it through the rest of the pep rally. He doesn’t want to be too obvious, and thankfully they don’t give him away much either. He just goes home and sits around for awhile, thinking. He looks up shit about soulmates. He researches the fuck out of them. There's so much information out there it's hard to make heads or tails of any of it. For the whole weekend he ignores the constant buzzing of his phone in favor of learning everything he can about soulmates.

Coming back to school on monday is…an ordeal. Facing Chloe after going quiet for the weekend is hell in and of itself.

Sitting down at the lunch table he’s greeted with a “Oh look, the douchnozzle’s alive.” He smiles sheepishly. Chloe’s glaring at him but Brooke looks concerned. Jenna looks over at him but justshrugs and looks back at her phone.

“Hey guys, what’s up,” he asks.  


“Are you okay?? Why weren’t you answering us Jake? I was really worried, especially after you said you weren’t going to homecoming,” Brooke says all in a rush. She looks like she’s actually about to cry. God, Chloe was right, he is such a douchenozzle. 

“I’m sorry guys, I just didn’t feel like talking to anyone. And it’s not like I had a date for homecoming anyway, I was just going with you guys and I figured you guys wouldn’t care that much and god, I’m really sorry.” He looks at all of them with a frown. “I wanted to learn about soulmates a little more and I got pretty caught up in it.” All three of the girls stare at him. 

“Jake if you wanted information about soulmates you literally could’ve talked to any of us,” Chloe says.

“I mean, I know I haven’t found my soulmate yet but I know enough shit about them Jake,” Jenna replies. Jake rubs the back of his neck. 

“Yeah, you guys are right.”

“So what did you want to know about them,” Brooke asks.

“I don’t know. Everything?” Jake replies. Chloe sighs.

“Okay so you lock eyes with your soulmate, you see color, what’s the problem here.”

“Well, what about me? I didn’t lock eyes with them or I’d know who they were.”

“I guess it’s just if your eyes meet at all, even just a glance,” Brooke answers.

“What if my soulmate like, died. Would I see color then?”

“Nah, if your soulmate dies you get really washed out colors. Like, your world is faded,” Chloe adds. 

“Okay. What if I’m not my soulmate’s soulmate? How often does that happen? Guys, what if that’s why they didn’t when I saw them?” Jake is verging on panicked, the idea having just come into his mind.

“That’s like, super rare. I mean, like it’s not impossible but that kind of stuff just happens in bad rom coms,” Jenna says, leaning on her elbow and turning towards Jake. There’s silence for a beat before Jake says something. He turns towards Brooke and Chloe a bit.

“So…what’s it feel like?” Jake asks. Brooke turns to him with a faraway look in her eyes.

“It’s this soft feeling, a really safe feeling. It feels like you’re heart is bursting with emotion but also like you’re the calmest person in the world when they’re around. It’s like coming home.” Chloe’s staring at her with a dopey smile and Brooke turns so she’s grinning right back. Jenna makes a gagging sound.

“Anyway, glad we had this conversation. Let’s move on right now immediately,” Jenna says, eyes back down at her phone. The two girls snap out of their staring contest and turn back to the rest of the table, their cheeks red. Jake laughs a little.

“Well thank you guys for taking my questions and shit.”

“Yeah no problem. We’re always here.”

“You can ask anytime, just don’t shut us out for the weekend okay?”

“Yeah, sorry again about that.”

They do end up moving on from there. Jenna talks about what happened at homecoming, Brooke talks about this new show she's watching, Chloe talks about the new shoes she's thinking of buying, and Jake just listens. He loves his friends, loves them even more when he can just listen to them go on without having to contribute much. It’s nice. When lunch ends, he walks to class with his mind full of daydreams about his soulmate. He has to go look for them. It shouldn’t be too hard. He just has to find the person who started seeing color the same time he did. One person. In the entire school. God, this is going to be impossible. 

++++++

It had been two weeks since the incident and Jake is going to fucking die.

It wasn’t fair!! Why does everyone else get these cute ass stories about how they met their soulmate and Jake doesn’t even get to know who his soulmate is? He’s banging his head against his locker when Chloe shows up beside him.

“Don’t hurt that pretty little face of yours Dillinger,” She teases.

“I just want to be dead Chloe, is that so much to ask?” He responds, his voice muffled a bit as it is currently resting on the books inside his locker.

“Yeah, it’s a bit extra. Have you tried chilling the fuck out?”

“Nah, not really my style.” He stuffs his binders and notebooks into his bag. Chloe giggles at him.

“Come on big guy, we’re going to the auditorium.”

“Why?”

“Jenna’s decided she wants to be involved in drama so until she can transfer into the class next semester, she’s helping out after school.”

“So why are we going?”

“Because we’re going to love and support the shit out of her, so we’re all helping out too. Don’t worry, we don’t have to take the class like she is but we’re still going after school and you’re going to goddamn enjoy it alright?” Chloe gives him a stern look and he knows this wasn’t up for debate. He sighs.

“Okay, alright, let me just get the rest of my stuff,” he says before locking his locker and heading down the hallway. 

When they get there, the stage is covered in wood and paint cans and people moving all around. Jenna is talking to Mr. Reyes near the stage with Brooke when they walk over. When Jenna spots them she turns back to him and gestures towards Jake and Chloe. 

“Those are the other friends I was talking about who want to be involved,” She says. “I’m not really interested in acting but I think helping out would be fun.”

“Yeah, same here,” Brooke says. 

“What are your names?” He asks. They all introduce themselves

Mr. Reyes gives them a once over and nods. “Yes, of course you can help out! We’re always looking for new people, keeps the program alive. I should find you someone to show you around the auditorium -Christine! Could you come over here for a minute?” He shouts.

A small girl who’s organizing paint cans off to the side of the stage stands up and walks over to him. “Yeah?”

“Could you show them around the auditorium? They’re here to help out,” he says before turning back to them. “It doesn’t matter what you do, but just remember that the other kids know more about it so they’re in charge. We’re not working on a production right now, we’re just kind of organizing so you can find someone to show you the ropes of something if you’re interested.” The group of four nod as Christine hops down from the stage.

“Hi! I’m Christine. I’m so glad people are taking an interest in the program! Is there anything you guys want to see in particular first or…?” She asks.

“Could we see the costume closet? I mean, that’s what I was interested in at least,” Jenna asks. Christine grins.

“Yeah of course! They’re sorting through all the costumes if you’d like to help.”

“That sounds great,” Jenna smiles. Jake watches them talk as they walk back to the closet. These girls are going to get along so well.

After dropping Jenna at the costume closet, Christine shows them where people are sorting wood and paint on the side stages. Brooke and Chloe sit down and started sorting but Jake isn’t exactly sure if that’s what he wants to sit and do for the rest of the time they’re there. Christine takes him back to the lighting booth.

The booth is small but not super cramped. There’s a couple of tables where large boards with knobs and sliders and some chairs. There’s also a ladder on the back wall that leads up into the ceiling.

“So this is the booth, lighting and sound work back here if you’re into tech stuff.” She points towards the ladder. “Up there is the catwalk and the bridge where we hang lights and stuff. I’d take you up there but I’m like, really afraid of heights, haha. There should be a lighting person around here somewhere…” She cups her hands around her mouth and shouts up the ladder. “Jeremy! Michael! Quit making out and come down here!!” She shouts.

Jeremy’s head peeks over the edge, his face red. He climbs down the ladder and rubs the back of his neck. Michael follows after him, his face less red but his hair mused. He smiles a little.

“Didn’t have to call us out like that Christine,” he laughs under his breath. Christine rolls her eyes. 

“So this is Jeremy and Michael. Jeremy and Michael this is Jake. Michael’s our go to sound guy and Jeremy is one of the lighting people, and they’re both always in the catwalk avoiding their responsibilities.”

“Okay well that’s only half true. We were sorting lights and cables in the landing but we got… sidetracked,” Jeremy protests. Jake notes that he seems more confident here, more in his element. He turns towards Jake. “Nice seeing you again though. You started taking an interest in theater?” He asks, leaning his shoulder against the railing.

“Uh, yeah kinda. My friend Jenna wanted to join so I came to support her and stuff.” Jeremy just kinda nods. 

“Cool, well yeah, feel free to help out anywhere. We’re really just going through things again. It’ll be production season soon so everything should at least start out in order,” He responds.

“So this is the only other thing really that we’re working on if you want to learn about the lighting or sound board. Also helping them sort stuff. What are you thinking?” Christine askes, her head titled. She looks really pretty like this and Jake thinks briefly that he wouldn’t mind if she was his soulmate. Then he remembers that she asked him a question. 

“Um, yeah I might just-”

He’s interrupted by the booth door opening and closing loudly as someone comes in.

“Yo Michael, Jeremy, I found the- oh,” the person shouts before he looks up from the box he’s carrying and realizes there are other people in the room. 

Jake looks over at him and _damn _. The guy is short but built. His arms are visible because of the muscle tee he’s wearing and just _goddamn. His hat is on backwards and he’s wearing gauges and through the hole in the back of the hat there’s what looks like a streak of red. Sure, Jake was kinda into guys but this guy was more than just attractive in passing. The guy looks at him for a second before his eyes travel to the rest of the people in the group. Jeremy gestures towards the stranger.___

___“This is Rich, he also does lighting,” Jeremy says. “Rich this is Jake, he might be helping out around the booth and shit sometimes after school?” Jake nods in response, trying not to seem as eager as he suddenly feels. Rich smiles a bit._ _ _

___“Nice to meet you man,” he says before turning back to Jeremy and oh god he has a lisp and it’s _adorable _. “I found those bulbs you wanted. The source fours, yeah?”_____

____

_____“Yeah, just set them in the landing.”_ _ _ _ _

____

_____Rich holds the box, half with his shoulder and half with his hand, as he climbs the ladder. Jake subtly watches him go, out of the corner of his eye. Michael and Jeremy turn to talk to each other while Christine looks at Jake._ _ _ _ _

____

_____“Okay, well you have fun here, I’m going to go back to where I was working.” Christine smiles before leaving. Jeremy stops talking to Michael for a minute._ _ _ _ _

____

_____“Oh hey, you should really see the catwalk and bridge and stuff. Go on up, Rich can teach you about like, the different types of lights,” Jeremy says to him. Jake nods and climbs the ladder._ _ _ _ _

____

_____Rich is crouched over a box of smaller boxes, apparently trying to rearrange them in a way to make them all fit again. When Jake is completely up the ladder, Rich looks up at him._ _ _ _ _

____

_____“What’s up?” Rich asks in greeting. Jake walks a step forward, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He’s a confident person, he’s really good at talking to new people, but he’s so out of his element here. Jake knew the hallways and sports fields like the back of his hand, but the auditorium? The auditorium _ceiling _? Surrounded by people who knew about 7 million times more about all this stuff than he did, one of which is a hot guy? Jake was confident but come on, you couldn’t blame him for being more than a little disoriented.___ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Jeremy told me you’d uh, show me the catwalk?” he asks. He meant for it to come out more as a statement than a question but oh well. Rich smiles a bit, which makes Jake feel like a little less of an awkward fuck. He stands up._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Yeah sure, follow me. Watch your head though,” He says before heading up the few steps from the landing into the catwalk._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______There are a lot of low hanging beams on the ceiling and Jake definitely has to duck his head the entire time he’s walking. There are also a few that stretch across the metal grating of the catwalk that he has to navigate through. Rich weaves through the maze of metal quickly. It’s not very surprising: he’s small and he’s done this before. It doesn’t stop Jake from trying to coordinate his ducking and stepping a little bit faster, to catch up but also to impress him. As Jake gets to the end of the catwalk and onto the bridge he can understand why people spend might spend their time up here._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______He can see out over all the stage, over all the people running about, and while he knows he’s not hidden from them, it feels kinda isolating, calming in a sense. There are only maybe 5 lights up right now and the spaces between them are large. If he leaned too far out he could easily fall through. With that in mind, he leans back from the edge just a bit. It’s easier to stand up in the bridge, but still a bit cramped. Rich looks out over the stage with him._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Yeah, so this is the bridge. It’s pretty cool up here, but like, literally everyone down there can hear what you’re saying so don’t go gossiping about too many people.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______Jake lets out an airy chuckle turns from Rich back to the stage. He can see Chloe and Brooke from here. “Hey Brooke!” he shouts._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______She looks around confused before realizing that the sound came from above. When she sees him she grins and taps Chloe on the shoulder and points up. Chloe looks up, spots him and laughs before waving a little. Jake grins and turns back to Rich who’s also smiling._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Being up here is always really cool, especially the first time,” Rich says. “Anyway, this is how we light a lot of the stage.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“This is awesome man,” Jake replies. Rich nods in response before turning and going back down the catwalk, gesturing for him to follow._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“You might’ve saw where we keep all the lights so I’ll just kinda orient you with them a bit.” When they get back to the landing Rich moves off to a side that was slightly hidden behind the the door to the landing entrance. He’d completely missed the collection of lights sitting on the ground when he came in. Rich stands by them._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“The smaller ones here are par 38’s, those ones are fresnels, these are the source fours that I had to get bulbs for…” He’s pointing as he lists them off but Jake tunes out in favor of letting Rich’s voice wash over him and staring at the small patch of red that he can see. Rich turns to him suddenly and Jake snaps out of his daze. “So yeah, those are the different kinds of lights we have but I don’t expect you to remember all of them immediately. It took me a bit in the beginning to get the hang of them.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Okay cool. So what were you doing before I came up?” Jake asks._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Oh, I was just trying to get these boxes to fit into here again,” Rich says as he walks over to the large box he had been crouched over. “They were just some extra bulbs for the source four’s but they were super tightly packed into this box and I can’t get them to fit again.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______Jake walks over and assesses the state of the boxes before shifting them around in the box. It takes him a minute, and the box ends up bending outward a little more than before, but eventually all the boxes are packed back in. He looks up triumphantly._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______Rich is grinning at him and Jake can’t help but grin back. This warm feeling kinda passes through him and his heart starts racing and he suddenly becomes hyper aware of how close they are on the ground, how they’re on opposite sides of this box but still only maybe 2 feet away from each other at most. He leans back a bit, trying to will himself into not blushing. Rich clears his throat._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______“Here, help me take this back to the storage closet and then I can show you the lighting board.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______For the rest of the time he’s there, Jake sticks near Rich and learns some of the ins and outs of the auditorium and the lighting booth. He learns that there are bars above the stage that are lower up than the bridge and that Rich didn’t like putting up lights on them, (he doesn’t like that he's so short that he had to stand on his toes even on ladders). He learns that the program had just gotten a new lighting board the year before and Rich would die for it, (he felt useless when they got it so he read the whole manual and now he knows almost everything about the system). At points he talks to Jeremy and Michael about what they’re doing but usually they’re up in the landing organizing different boxes. For the most part, Jake’s able to pay attention to what Rich is saying but he still has the tendency to zone, nodding like he’s listening but really he’s just looking at Rich’s arms or his hair or just flat out staring at his fucking face. It's a miracle that Rich doesn’t notice._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______Eventually it’s too late to justify staying and Jake says his reluctant goodbyes to everyone in the booth. He has to drive the gang home, and thankfully they had as nice a time as he did. While they know they can’t help out everyday, it’s not hard to agree that this was more than a one time thing. Jenna seems pleased that everyone liked it, and excitedly talks about the new gossip she heard in the costume closet. Apparently they like throwing shade as much as Jenna likes catching it._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____

_______When Jake tries to sleep that night, he finds himself thinking about the way Rich grinned and the way he laughed when Jake made a dumb joke and how he seemed so in his element yet kinda shy about it, like he didn’t want Jake to judge him for how much he liked it. He finally falls asleep to the same warmth from earlier spreading through his body, too tired to feel anything but happy and calm._ _ _ _ _ _ _

____


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> partially inspired by Gerard playing Roger from his insta bc hot damn what a guy. lol anyway, I'm bad at updating so here you go I guess

It’s nice to have something fun to do after school every couple of days. Sure, he still had student council and there were sports that he could be playing, but drama is relaxing in a way. He’s not an expert at lighting but he’s learning fast. It helps that Rich is a great teacher. At first glance, he seems like he’d be the kind of guy who doesn’t like to explain things twice, the kind of person who runs through the information quickly and expects you to get it. He’s not though, he so far from that. He goes slowly, answers questions, repeats things. He’s building from the ground up and he makes it simple in his explanations, which Jake is super grateful for. He doesn’t know if he could take another self absorbed show off condescending to him about everything. 

It’s more than good teaching that makes Jake excited about helping out. It’s the people, pretty much all of them. Everyone works so hard and are so passionate about what they’re doing. It’s almost inspiring in a way. Jeremy shows him how to hang lights and Michael offers to show him the basics of sound if he ever wants to learn. Christine bounces around and makes sure he’s doing okay, always willing to give hugs if he’s stressed or having a bad day. Come to think of it, pretty much everyone is open to hugs if others are having a bad day. Of the other people in drama, who he doesn’t know as well, he’s never seen any of them turn down a request for a hug. He hasn’t gotten any from anyone besides Christine but he’s sure if he asked someone they’d say yes, regardless of how awkward the hug might end up being.

And then there’s Rich. There’s something about Rich that just clicks with Jake. They work well together, they get along with each other, they never run dry on things to talk about. Rich is funny and excitable and nice and it’s easy to become friends with him. It helps that Rich is still very attractive and Jake is all about that. He hasn’t had a real crush since Chloe all those years ago, but the way this is going, Rich could easily be his next. It’s not a thought that really worries him but it certainly is something he thinks about. A lot.

Despite the fact that he thought about him so much, Jake and Rich had never hung out outside of the program. They didn’t even have each other’s numbers to talk. It had seemed too invasive at first: like beyond drama was Rich’s real life, and Jake didn’t want to invade. Eventually, it became less of a choice and more of a fact. They didn’t interact outside of after school work and that was just it is. They didn’t have any classes together and were probably not even on the same lunch shift. They were circumstantial friends: people in the same place at the same time and therefore they learned a bit about each other. 

Jake didn’t want to be circumstantial friends. Jake wanted to be able to text Rich at one in the morning and know it wouldn’t be weird. He wanted Rich to come over and play video games. He wanted Rich to be able to rant about his classes or people he didn’t like to him. He wanted to be a friend, a close friend even. If Rich wasn’t interested in him, then that would be fine, so long as they could still be friends.

That’s why Jake decides to ask for Rich’s number one day while they were working on the board. They’re creating some sub-masters for a ceremony in the auditorium the following night and Jake figures it was as good a time as any. 

“So hey, would it be cool if I asked for your number? So you can let me know if there are days specifically you might need help or something.” Jake says, a bit hesitant. Rich looks...surprised?

“Oh, yeah sure of course,” Rich responds, his eyes still fixed on the lighting board but a bit wider than before. Jake might be imagining it, but there seems to be the lightest hint of pink blossoming on his face as Jake hands him his phone and enters his contact. 

“Cool thanks, I’ll text you so you have my number too,” Jake says before shooting off a text and bringing his phone back up to his face. “I’m taking your contact picture, smile.”

Rich does smile, a comically large grin stretching across his face as he turns towards the camera, eyes scrunched shut. Jake laughs a bit, bringing the phone back down and setting the picture to the contact. Rich settles his smile into a more reasonable one, a smaller, more reserved one. If it wasn’t impossible to do so without Rich noticing, Jake would take another picture of this smile, maybe not for the contact, but just to have. It would be a good picture, he thinks. Rich isn’t exactly photogenic, but he still figures that every picture that he’s been in has been a good angle of him, as if this boy had any bad angles.

Drama’s been keeping him busy, but not too busy that it stops him from looking for his mystery soulmate. He still eyes people as they walk through the halls, still seeks out eye contact with strangers, hoping one of them will see him and just suddenly realize that they’re soulmate. It’s a stretch, but at this point, he’s getting desperate. It’s been weeks since the pep rally and no one besides him and his friends seem to care about soulmates with more than a passing interest. It’s frustrating and yet weirdly relieving at the same time. If he can’t find his soulmate, he can keep dwelling on the concept that is Rich. 

The thought crosses his mind that Rich could be his soulmate, but they’ve known each other for this long so surely he would have brought it up. Maybe. Possibly. Soulmates has never been a topic they’ve even verged on, which isn’t too weird except that they talk about nearly everything. There’s no reason for it to come up yet no reason not to. Jake doesn’t think about it too much, better to not get his hopes up just in case they come crashing down. Still, this soulmate business is frankly so unnecessarily extra at this point that he can’t help but go on weekly rants to each of his friends about it. Sometimes Jake lays in bed and looks at the ceiling for a long while, wondering when God will cut him a fucking break.

++++++

The first time Rich chills with them is as a group. It was finally Friday, and quite honestly it’s been one of the most stressful weeks of Jake’s life. He’s had four major tests in three days, two projects due, and more homework than he can even process. There’s no after school anything for drama because Mr. Reyes is gearing up for the next production. Apparently he’s spending after school going through scripts and plays and making sure that they are able to find an appropriate show to put on. Jake doesn’t know how involved he wants to be in whatever show it ends up being, but it’s not something he wants to think about now. All he wants to think about it getting Chinese food and sushi and inviting people over to watch Netflix and hang. It’s Friday. He deserves it.

He’s been texted Rich semi-regularly and enough that it’s not strange or out of the blue to get a text from each other. He debates for a while about whether he should invite him along with the rest of the gang. The others know him to some degree, in passing but not to any real depth. It might be awkward to have him there, but then again, how else are they going to get to know him? Jake wants to be better friends with Rich, Jake wants Rich to be friends with his friends, Jake wants an excuse to talk about Rich all the time with his friends. By inviting Rich over, all of these can be accomplished. It’s a great idea! It’s perfect! One might even call it genius! There’s no way that this can go wrong. So why is he so scared to send a fucking text?

It takes 10 minutes of staring at his screen, typing and retyping, phrasing and rephrasing, abandoning the task and immediately coming back to it before he finally ends up sending the text. It shouldn’t be that hard, it’s not like he’s asking him on a date. It’s just hanging out. Jake can hang out. Everything is going to be fine.

It takes several nerve wracking minutes before Rich responds and agrees to come. Jake is excited as hell. He lets the rest of the crew know about their latest addition before ordering the food.

Everyone shows up at his house about half past 6, although Rich shows up a few minutes after everyone else. It’s not the most comfortable environment but it’s not totally awkward. Rich is very obviously nervous but seems to settle in as he gets used to the atmosphere. He’s pretty similar to everyone else there actually: same type of humor, same type of sarcastic tones. Brooke has been making a special effort to keep him included in the conversations and Jake is eternally grateful.

They end up watching on American Psycho and eating their takeout while huddled in a huge pillow fort on the floor. While it starts with everyone watching the movie, it eventually just devolves into a big conversation with the movie playing in the background. 

Chloe is lying in Brooke’s lap with an arm propping her head up a bit as she tilts her head in Rich’s direction. “So Rich, what’s your deal. How’d you get into theater?” Jake turns his attention from the movie he was half paying attention to as Rich answers. 

“It was Michael and Jeremy I think. They were both in the program and I didn’t have anything better to do so I joined. Also by taking the class I got my required arts credit, so it was a win win.”

“Any favorite musicals?” Brooke follows up.

“That’s like asking me to pick favorite children.” Jake chuckles a bit at that. He’d never been too into musicals, but he’s not against them. Personally? He was pretty neutral. “I think the first one I ever really got into was Rent so that’s pretty far up there,” Rich continues. 

“You’d make a pretty kick-ass Roger if you ask me,” Chloe comments. It makes Rich smile and duck his head which, honestly? Such a good look on him. 

“Thanks.”

Jenna interrupts them by pointing out just how much soy sauce they have and how they have literally no use for it now that they’re done eating. Jake gets an awful idea.

“Hey, we should do shots of soy sauce.”

He’s met with a mixture of resounding YES’s (Chloe and Rich) and disgusted noooooooo’s (Jenna and Brooke). He breaks into the biggest grin. 

“Chloe if you do a shot of soy sauce you’ll throw up.”

“I will not, I’ve been eating Chinese food all night. There’s already a good amount of soy sauce in my stomach, Brooke.” 

“I won’t kiss you for the rest of the night if you do it.”

“But that’s not faaaaiiiirrrrr,” Chloe whines. 

They all argue for a few minutes about whether it will make them sick and whether any of them actually have the willpower to do it. Chole’s knocked out of the running by Brooke, Jenna refuses on principle (although at times she does look particularly tempted), which leaves Jake and Rich. Rich is all for the idea and if he’s doing it there’s no way Jake can just back out. 

They leave their blanket fort for the kitchen and grab two shot glasses, pouring the soy sauce into them. The thought of it is kinda revolting but Jake’s honestly excited. Chloe counts down from five while Jenna records them. When she gets to one, Rich knocks his back with no hesitation. Jake follows a split second behind. 

The initial hit isn’t that bad, but on it’s way down it coats his tongue and throat in a way that just tastes disgusting. He wants to regret it but he can’t when Rich is smiling and laughing next to him, just as disgusted but enjoying the small adrenaline rush that comes with impulsively doing something dumb. Jake’s grinning, and although he knows he’s going to get a lot of shit tomorrow about all of this after Jenna posts the video, he can’t bring himself to care at all. He’s having fun with his friends and it’s exactly what he needed after this hell week. 

They go back to watching the movie, and then later, a different movie, and after that, yet another movie. What started as just hanging out turned into an impromptu sleepover, everyone cuddled together and sleepy. It’s nearly 3 and everyone is just about out. Jake reluctantly gets up from his warm spot in the pile to go get a drink from the kitchen. Rich shows up behind him a few seconds after, eyes a little bleary but awake. He smiles a sleepy smile at Jake and gets himself a drink too. They stand at the counter, sipping water and enjoying the other’s company. 

Rich is the one to break the silence. 

“Thanks for inviting me,” he says in a half whisper, like he’s scared he’ll wake someone up. “And thanks for letting me sleepover too.”

Jake smiles over at him. “No problem, I’m really glad you’re here. It’s been fun.” Rich blushes, just a bit, and Jake’s positive that had Rich been entirely awake he would’ve made some attempt to hide the action. But he isn’t, and he doesn’t, so Jake notices. 

“Your friends are really nice. I was scared I’d be intruding but they were very nice about it. I feel like they’d get along well with Michael and Jeremy and Christine.”

“I guess I’ll just have to invite them too next time.” Rich hums in response as he takes another sip.

“Brooke and Chloe make a good pair.”

“Well, hopefully,” Jake laughs. “They’re soulmates.”

“I figured,” Rich says before hesitating a second. After a moment he speaks again. “Have you found your soulmate?”

The question sets Jake’s heart racing in arrhythmic beats of anxiety. How was he supposed to answer? _Yes_ , he had seen his soulmate, but _no_ , he hasn’t met them and at this point _maybe_ he didn’t care about finding them anymore. 

As soon as the thought enters his mind, Jake’s startled with the realization that he doesn’t really care at this point. He’s made no headway in his search, he hadn’t been trying all that hard to begin with and really? He’s fine with what he has right now, his friends, old and new. He’s struck with the difficulty of such a simple question. It should be yes or no, but instead it’s full of messy qualifying statements. The only answer he can think to give is the true one, messy as it is.

“Yes and no. It’s complicated. I saw them at the pep rally but I don’t know whose eyes I looked into. I can see color, but I don’t know my soulmate. It’s less than ideal but I’m coming to terms with it.” It silent for a beat, and Jake is about to ask the question back, but Rich answers it without prompting. 

“I’ve always been able to see color. It’s not super common, but most of the time people born with colored sight don’t have soulmates. I like the idea of them but I just figure that it can never apply to me, you know?” He looks over at Jake now, a little bit more awake than a few minutes ago. His eyes look sad but like they’ve accepted this fact. Jake tries to ignore the disappointment pooling in his stomach at the new information. He gives his best sympathetic look. Rich sends it back. It’s this look that gives Jake the extra boost of courage he needs.

“Do you um, want like, a hug… or something?” He manages to get out. It’s an awkward way of saying it but it gets his point across. He rationalizes that it’s not for his own benefit, that he’s just being a good friend. It’s not selfish, he just wants to comfort him. It’s what friends do.

Rich doesn’t respond immediately and Jake is about to panic and take the offer back when Rich gives a kinda hesitant nod. Jake sets down his glass and moves over to his friend, wrapping his arms around him.

It’s a good hug, a phenomenal hug even. Rich must’ve learned to hug this well from constant drama hugging because it’s definitely in the running for best hug Jake’s even gotten. Rich adjusts his arms so that they’re wrapped just a tiny bit tighter around Jake’s middle and all the other competition for best hug flies out the window. It’s calming, warm to the point where it should be uncomfortable but it’s not. It’s perfect. But Jake can’t revel in it too long, it would be unjustifiable and definitely selfish if he did. So he give a last little squeeze before coming out of the hug, feeling sufficiently satisfied that he comforted Rich. Rich looks sufficiently comforted. 

They go back to the cuddle pile and settle their way back in in silence. They exchange soft, tired smiles to each other before laying down. Jake drifts off, and everything is comfortable. Everything feels right.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man school's been so crazy lately, super sorry that I haven't updated in like forever. This one's a little bit shorter but I hope you guys like it anyway!!

Things have been going great for Rich lately. His two friend groups are slowly combining into one and he couldn’t be happier. They do, in fact, share the same lunch shift, and Rich, Jeremy, and Michael are welcome additions to the other group’s table. Something about everyone together just makes sense, regardless of the fact that they are all so wildly different. There’s a strange harmony to it all: a tightly knit unit, inseparable and highly protective. Despite the short time they’ve known each other, it’s almost impossible to think that any one of them wouldn’t have another’s back. It’s a stability in Rich’s life that he’s eternally grateful for. 

Jake seems to fit perfectly into Rich’s life. They text nearly constantly, they hang out regularly, they have the same sense of humor; they practically share the same skin. Rich loves every one of his friends with all his heart, but Jake is easily becoming his best friend and it terrifies him. Yes, he’s had best friends before, but it was never quite like this. Jeremy and Michael are amazing and wonderful and fantastic, but they’re soulmates. It was impossible for him to be included in everything, and inevitable that they would give each other more attention than him. Rich was fine with it! He really was! But now things were different and he doesn’t know what to do.

It’s not bad it’s just...different. Jake always listens when Rich talks, makes inside jokes just for them, gives him attention and respect and doesn’t make Rich feel like he has to make himself useful in order to be wanted. There’s no stress, no expectations, just smiles and laughter and dumb jokes and yeah, he’s scared as hell, but Rich can’t stop himself from attaching himself to Jake from the get-go. 

There’s also a slight, tiny, miniscule possibility that he’s definitely caught feelings for this boy.

It’s not an ideal situation but it’s not soul-crushing either. Logically, Rich knows Jake has a soulmate and that he does not, but it doesn’t prevent him from accidentally zoning when Jake’s talking in order to admire his jawline. It doesn’t stop him from smiling dopily at his phone when Jake texts him about something stupid. It sure as hell doesn’t stop him from thinking about kissing him (constantly, all the time, every minute of the day). But listen, as long as Rich makes sure to push those feeling down as much as possible and keep cool about it all, he can bear it.

Life is great and nothing hurts. That is until about 5:00 after school in the lighting booth.

Jake, Rich, Michael, Jeremy, and Chloe are sitting around talking. There isn’t much work to do today because the band has the stage for some odd reason and they can’t do any work on it until they’re done. There isn’t really anything to do anyway, as the days til the show announcement become fewer and fewer, so all the time after school is mostly superficial: cleaning, sorting, organizing. So all five of them are in the booth, sitting around and talking until they get bored enough to go home. 

Jake and Rich are practically pressed to each other’s side. They’re not really touching, but they’re close enough that Rich can feel the heat radiating off Jakes body if he focused on it. And he definitely is. It's one of those days where you pay attention to everything your crush does, simultaneously hyper aware of how you’re acting yet comfortable enough to not care at all. Jake's been adorable all day. He's wearing Rich’s favorite of his shirts, sporting newly cut hair, and grinning like he’s just won the lottery. He laughs at every joke, even at his own expense. He's so full of light that it almost hurts to look directly at him. Rich thinks he finally understands Icarus’ dilemma: how do you keep your distance from something so beautiful, so bright?

It was a good day, a great day. They’re talking about nothing in particular, but just jumping from topic to topic. They talk a lot about school. Most of their lives revolve around school.

“That AP world test actually murdered me,” Michael says, falling onto Jeremy’s shoulder for dramatic effect.

“Yeah, I’ve heard some people complain about it. Was it really that bad?” Jake asks.

“It was three days long. Three. Days. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I understood literally anything that’s going on but I definitely do not.” Michael buries himself further into the sweater Jeremy’s wearing. Jeremy pats his head sympathetically. 

“Well, it’s over at least. That’s a plus,” Rich offers.

“Yeah, I guess,” Michael responds. Jeremy has moved from patting his head to stroking his hair. Michael looks so content. 

Apparently Rich isn’t the only one to notice this. Chloe looks at Michael and Jeremy and then turns to Rich. “You seriously didn’t know they were soulmates for how long?”

“I’m not very observant!! I can’t really help my obliviousness,” Rich answers defensively. Everyone chuckles a little bit. Chloe turns to Jake.

“How’s your soulmate quest going, by the way?”

Jake shrugs. “Slow, but I’ll find them eventually.”

“Jake, it’s been weeks.”

“And?”

“And you should start seriously searching. You’re not the only person who involved in this.”

Rich can see the annoyance growing behind Jake’s eyes. This isn't going to be good. 

“I know I’m not, but if they want to find me they need to put in some effort too.”

“Okay yeah but still. I mean, what kind of stuff are you doing to look for them?” Jake’s jaw is set in a way that Rich has never really seen before, and goodness does it make him nervous. 

“I’m doing a lot of stuff. I mean, what do you want me to do Chloe, hang signs that say ‘Lost Soulmate’? This isn’t exactly easy.”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “All I’m saying is that you should put in a little more effort. Do you even want to find them?” Rich risks a glance at Jake. Oh no.

“Of course I do!” he snaps. He practically yells it really. Everyone saw it coming and yet everyone is startled by it. Everyone except Chloe. She’s looking at Jake with an unimpressed look on her face. Jake just shakes his head and stands up. He grabs his bag from the corner where he put it when he got there and leaves. 

Rich is angry but mostly he’s concerned. He stares at the door for a moment and then looks to Chloe. “Hey, what the fuck Chloe.”

She shrugs. “They were fair points. He didn’t have to overreact.”

Rich gets up and heads out the door. Jake is probably still on his way to his car, and if Rich jogs, he can probably catch up to him. 

Jake is halfway across the parking lot when Rich gets out the doors of the school. He calls after him.

“Jake! Jake wait a minute.”

He gets to the car right as Jake is. Jake is still fuming, but Rich is just happy he got to him before he left. 

“Listen, I’m sorry about what Chloe said to you. You know how she takes things too far sometimes, she just doesn’t think about how other people will react,” Rich tries to say comfortingly, but he’s a little out of breath from his jog, so the effect is mostly lost. 

“More like she just doesn’t care,” Jake mumbles. Rich has to admit, it’s kind of true. She doesn’t care because she’s never had to. Being empathetic doesn’t come naturally to her. 

“Okay, but she’ll probably apologize tomorrow. It’ll be fine, don’t worry.” Rich tries to reach his hand out and put it on Jake’s shoulder but he moves away. 

“It’s not just that. It’s- you don’t get it. She does this kind of shit over and over and over and she always apologizes but she never really means it. It’s so fake and the thing is, she knows that this is a sensitive topic for me. She knows! And yet she keeps pushing and pushing and I just! I want it to be over with!” He’s frustrated, so frustrated that he looks like he might cry. 

“Jake I know it’s hard but-”

“No you don’t!” Jake interrupts him. “There’s no way you could know. You haven’t known her as long as I have, you haven’t been fucked ten times over by her. You don’t know shit.” Jake isn’t ranting anymore, he’s just looking at Rich, all anger and frustration. “You don’t even have a soulmate to be hassled about!!” Jake yells. 

It feels like something inside Rich breaks a little. It’s not his heart, but it’s something close. Something that aches just as much. He’s always had a tendency to cry when yelled at, (a lingering symptom of his parent’s constant fights and his dad’s fits of rage), but being yelled at by Jake? Him saying something like _that _?__

__He has tears in his eyes as he turns around and walks back towards the school doors. He can feel them falling down his face, hot and wet. He doesn’t even try to hold them back. Behind him he can hear Jake, calling after him, calmer, apologetic. He doesn’t turn around for him. He walks back into the school and heads towards the bathroom._ _

__When he gets there he goes into the stall farthest from the door. He knows the floor is more disgusting than anything he’s ever looked at in this life but he sits down on it anyway. He pulls his knees up to his chest, wraps his arms around them, and lets the sobs overtake his body._ _


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back on my bullshit lmao but here y'all go. I'm nearing the end of this story so maybe one or two more chapter left. I hope you like the chapter and hope you guys have some happy holidays!!

Jake texts him that night. He tries to apologize, tries to make things as right as he can. After 8 unanswered phone calls the only response he gets is a text that reads “drop it.” Jake goes to bed that night guilty, sad, and tired. 

When Jake sees him the next day at lunch, Rich is pretending nothing happened, but there’s an edge to his usual cheerfulness. He smiles and he laughs but there’s no longer any ease between them. He’s guarded, more closed off than before. Jake has no doubt that Rich is wary of him now. He doesn’t seem to want to hold it against Jake, but he doesn’t want to open himself up like that again just to be hurt. It’s the kind of defense mechanism that Jake understands, knows Rich is smart enough to have developed through years of bullying and pain. Rich was friends with everyone and yet close to no one before, except Michael and Jeremy. Before Jake came around, Rich must have been like this all the time. This Rich isn’t the person Jake has come to know so well. This Rich is the person Jake met in the beginning, scared of opening up, of being himself.

 

The chatter at the lunch table continues as though no one else has noticed. He thinks he sees Jeremy and Michael glaring at him out of the corner of his eye from time to time, but every time he glances over they’re looking away. It leaves him feeling unsettled. Chloe is predictably unrepentant, but Brooke’s eyes are shooting meaningful looks between him and Chloe. She apparently is pretending not to notice.

There are things Jake has learned about Rich in the time he has known him. For one thing, he touches everyone. He lets his hands linger on people’s backs, necks, tousles hair, gives high fives, practically hangs off of others. Today, Rich is sitting on the other side of the table and deliberately moving away from anyone else’s touch. He plays it off like he doesn’t realize he’s doing it, but Jake has spent long enough staring in those eyes to recognize the fear behind them. If he can tell, then certainly so can Jeremy and Michael, having probably dealt with days like this more often than Jake ever has. It hurts Jake more than he thought it would, to see the subtle change in Rich. What he said wasn’t particularly cruel or even a major remark, but it cut deeper than Jake had imagined. Rich seemed like he was finally making himself vulnerable, completely so, after years of building thick skin. It hurt Jake almost physically to think that he’s caused this reversion.

It’s more than just the situation with Rich that makes his day so shitty. The whole day just feels off. There's something missing in Jake, something crucial that he didn’t know he needed, didn’t even know he had till that day. Everything feels just a little bit colder, a little bit darker. The comforting warmth that had settled in his chest for the past month or two has shifted into a combination of heavy dread, sorrow, and icy indifference. Jake doesn’t feel like himself. He feels like less of a person, less real.

He’s able to catch Rich at his locker at the end of the day.

“Look Rich, I’m really sorry for what I said last night,” Jake says. Rich looks at him and forces a smile, a bit too unnatural to sit on his face for too long. 

“It’s fine! I shouldn’t have overreacted really,” Rich laughs.

“No Rich, really. It wasn’t cool of me. I don’t even know why I said it anyway.”

“It’s okay! Dude it’s totally fine, don’t stress over it.” There’s a plea in his voice, a begging for him to stop talking, to change the subject, _anything _. As much as Jake wants him to be comfortable, he wants to have his best friend back. He wants Rich to feel as safe as he did before. Jake wants to feel like himself again. Maybe he doesn’t have the most selfless motives, but he was okay with that right now. He can be a little selfish if he wants to.__

__“Rich. You’re allowed to feel. You’re allowed to be upset by what I said. It was wrong of me and I’m sorry, but that doesn’t mean you have to forgive me even. It’s alright to have emotions.”_ _

__Rich looks a little like he might cry. He nods at Jake, attempts something that looks like a smile briefly before it drops from his face. He takes a shaky breath._ _

__“Okay,” he manages to get out. Jake offers what he hopes is a comforting smile._ _

__“Let me try to make it up to you. Come over to my house tonight. We can play video games and eat shit that’s bad for us. It’ll be fun.”_ _

__Rich nods again and Jake’s smile becomes more genuine. He’s relieved. Some of the fear and dread in his chest seems to dissipate. He jangles his keys in his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”_ _

__The drive to Jake’s house isn’t long, but Rich doesn’t say a word the whole time. There’s music playing, so it’s not awkward, but there’s this air between them. The car has a tension that neither are brave enough to break. It’s as though every sound is amplified, like everything means more when it cuts through the air. Any conversation, real conversation would be too much. Even pointless small talk seems like more than they could bear._ _

__The house always seems too big when Jake drives up to it. Regardless of how long it’s been since he last saw his parents, it still feels like maybe they’ll be inside this time. Maybe they’ve come back for him. Despite this hope, every time he gets home he’s met with the same empty kitchen, the same couch and chairs. It’s mostly okay, and anyway, he has Rich with him now._ _

__The change in atmosphere makes talking more bearable, and it doesn’t take long till they’re joking around and having fun again. Rich isn’t a serious person. No matter how anxious he might be, no matter how upset, he still tries to be lighthearted. He looks like he’s having genuine fun though, not the false optimism he’d surrounded himself with before. It’s good, _really _good. Jake is glad Rich seems to be feeling more himself.___ _

____Because it’s Friday, and because Jake reeeaalllyyy doesn’t want to get up and drive Rich home, he ends up crashing at Jake’s house. They switched to watching Netflix somewhere around 7:00 and now they are watching Daredevil at half past 12. Surrounding their place on the couch are bags of chips and soda and popcorn, all half-touched but none finished. It’s Rich who breaks their comfortable silence._ _ _ _

____“Hey,” he starts, “thank you for this. It was really nice of you to invite me over.” He’s not looking at Jake, just staring at his hands in his lap._ _ _ _

____“It’s nothing man. I’m what made you upset in the first place, it’s up to me to make it right. You’re my best friend,” Jake responds, putting his hand on Rich’s shoulder and squeezing. They’re close enough to each other that it’s not a long distance for his hand to travel but it still feels like too far._ _ _ _

____“It’s just… I maybe don’t have the best view of soulmates. My mom and my dad certainly weren’t, both having lost theirs and settling for each other until they couldn’t stand it anymore. My brother has a soulmate but he’s been traveling for years just to find them and he hasn’t yet. What’s the point of having a soulmate if you never meet them?”_ _ _ _

____Rich still isn’t looking at Jake, and Jake’s hand still hasn’t moved from its position on Rich’s shoulder._ _ _ _

____“And then there’s me, the only person in my whole family to not have a soulmate. I mean, it’s not that rare, right? Who even decided soulmates were a good idea in the first place? It’s all anyone ever thinks about, it’s all they ever want to talk about, it’s everywhere and everything and I can’t stop thinking ‘Why am I not good enough for that? What made me so bad that I’m not allowed to have one?’”_ _ _ _

____He has tears falling down his face but he hasn’t stopped talking. He picks up speed, his speech coming out between barely suppressed gasps and sobs._ _ _ _

____“Everyone has one except me because I’m such a mess. All I ever do is make people upset or feel sorry for me but no one says anything because they’re too nice. I know I’m annoying, I know I’m too loud and too much but I’m trying to not be, I’m -- I’m trying so hard. I just want people to like me, beyond this whole soulmate business. I just -- I just--”_ _ _ _

____Jake pulls him into a hug then, maneuvering himself so they’re facing each other. Rich buries his face in Jake’s chest. It’s a timid hug at first, like he’s scared to hug him as much as he wants to. It evolves into Rich grabbing fistfuls of Jake’s shirt, letting himself cry, letting himself feel. Jake is hugging him back, holding him really. He places his head atop Rich’s and rubs circles into his back. He’s whispering._ _ _ _

____“Shhh, it’s okay. It’s alright, I gotcha.”_ _ _ _

____Rich cries till he’s exhausted himself and Jake holds him till he goes slack in Jake’s arms. He lowers them into a lying position and pulls one of the blankets down from the back of the couch and throws it over them. He continues to stroke Rich, runs his hand down his hair to his hips and then back up again. They sleep like that: cuddled up against one another, tv playing softly in the background, plans already forming in Jake’s head to make tomorrow the best day Rich has ever had._ _ _ _

____When he dreams he dreams of summer and road trips and adventures. He dreams of places he’s never been, people he’s never met. He dreams, and he always dreams of Rich. No matter the time, place, or people around him, Rich is always there, and the world is always vibrant. Here, in this dreamscape, his heart feels lightest. Here, he feels more at home than his house ever did._ _ _ _


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me: *is busy and has writer block for a month*  
> Also me: *writes 3000 words in one sitting*  
> lmao WOWZERS This is finally finished??? this is the longest thing I've ever written lol so thank you guys for reading and interacting with it, it really means a lot. I hope you like the ending!

Rich can tell that it’s morning, and that he’s sleeping on someone’s chest, but it takes him a moment to remember where he is, and whose chest he’s sleeping on. His initial confusion dissipates as memories of the night before flood back to him. There’s light streaming in from a window across the room and in it the room looks golden. Besides Jake’s bedroom, it’s probably the most lived-in part of the house. Rich has been here enough to know what the other rooms look like: clean, pristine, almost museum-like in atmosphere. But this room and Jake’s are a messy, organized chaos. 

Jake is still asleep. Rich’s head is resting on his chest and from this position he can feel him breathing, can hear his heart beating out a soft, steady rhythm. It’s nice. It’s comfortable. Rich could live in the memory of this for the rest of his life. 

He tilts his head to look up at Jake and the only thing he can really process is….awe. The light has molded itself to his features, softened the corners of his face, flooded him in a warm glow. He looks beautiful when he’s sleeping. He looks almost angelic. Rich’s heart beats faster, nervous that Jake will wake up and catch him staring, but he can’t bring himself to look away. Jake stirs a bit, eyelids fluttering slightly, and Rich’s anxiety grows, forcing him to move his head away, look back down, and close his eyes. Jake doesn’t wake, but Rich becomes suddenly aware of how desperately he needs to pee. 

He shifts, trying to move in a way that won’t disturb Jake. Unfortunately, because of his position directly on top of him, it proves unsuccessful, and Jake sucks in a startled breath as he wakes, bleary eyed.

“Rich?” Jake rasps, throat dry from sleep and rough from disuse. His hair isn’t easily messed up because of its length, but it’s as mused as it can be at the moment, flat in parts and sticking up in others. It’s possibly the most attractive thing Rich has ever seen. 

“Hey, wakey wakey Jakey D,” Rich responds, surprisingly composed for how anxious he is. 

“Where are you going?” Jake just looks confused, like he can’t process that there would be any reason for Rich to get up, which is actually understandable, considering how warm they were lying there. 

“Bathroom, man. I gotta take a monumental piss,” Rich responds, climbing the rest of the way off of Jake and starting on his way to the hall bathroom. Behind him Jake just snorts out a half laugh and lets his head fall back onto the cushion it was resting on. Rich cracks a smile as he walks away. 

When he gets back, Jake’s sitting up, texting someone on his phone. Rich searches the couch for his phone, eventually finding it between two cushions, mostly dead from not being charged through the night. Jake looks over at him.

“Do you want to do something today? Like, go out and go places? I kind of just want to do something,” Jake asks. It kind of surprises Rich, because they just spent yesterday chilling and yeah, they’re best friends, but for some reason it seems strange that Jake would want to spend time with him. Rich knows people like him, knows he has friends that like being around him, but having a person who wants to keep hanging out with him? It’s still a little foreign. 

“Yeah sure, sounds cool. What do you want to do?” 

Jake pauses at that, thinking.

“Do you want to go see a movie or something? We could go to a movie and then that arcade near the mall.”

“Yeah that sounds cool,” Rich replies. “Let’s eat some breakfast though, I’m starving.”

“Okay,” Jake laughs and gets up to go to the kitchen. It’s nearly 11. Jake gets them some cereal because he hasn’t gone grocery shopping in a bit, so honestly he isn’t really sure what he has by way of breakfast foods. 

They eat in silence for a minute, the house still around them. It’s a comfortable silence, and Rich doesn’t want it break it, but he feels like he kind of has to. He doesn’t want last night to go unaddressed. 

“Hey,” he starts. “Thanks, about last night. It means a lot to me.” He stares at the food in his bowl, moves it around with his spoon and refuses to meet Jake’s eyes. He does risk a glance up though, and Jake is staring right at him. He quickly looks down again.

“I’m always here for you Rich. Whatever you need, I can try my best to help with. You mean a lot to me,” Jake responds. Rich doesn’t know how to respond, but he does blush a bit as he goes back to eating his food. 

They decide over breakfast that they should see Thor: Ragnarok, because neither of them have seen it and it looked fun. The nearest time is an hour from now so they start getting ready. Due to their impromptu sleepover, Rich didn’t bring any clothes and he has to borrow a shirt and hoodie from Jake. It’s getting colder out: not freezing, just a little chilly. The clothes smell like Jake, and Rich tries to hide the fact that he may or may not be wrapping the hoodie more tightly around himself. It’s just because it’s little big on him, not at all because it reminds him of waking up that morning, warm and happy.

Jake insists on buying them tickets, but Rich insists on buying them popcorn and soda. The movie is good and afterwards they go get ice cream, regardless of the fact that they just ate more popcorn than is probably good for them. 

They go from ice cream to the arcade. It’s kinda old fashioned, something you’d more likely see in an 80’s movie than in real life. No one’s really knows how it stays running, but there’s still a semi-steady stream of pre-teen customers who occupy it. Rich spent a lot of time here when he was younger, back when things were really starting to get bad and he just needed an escape. It’s mostly those big, bulky arcade machines, except for some skeeball machines in the back, all lit with a neon glow and the room bathed in black light. They load up on tokens and move around playing alone and with each other. Most of the games belong in the 80’s but Rich is a pro at Galaga and will destroy you given the chance. He shows Jake the hard way. Jake’s not very good at any of the games but he seems like he’s having fun anyway. They spend hours in the arcade. 

By the time they leave it’s late afternoon. They get into the car and Jake turns to him.

“Do you want to go someplace cool? There’s this nice place I found at some point last year, if you want to go see it,” Jake asks

“Yeah sure, sounds good,” Rich answers.

Jake ends up driving them to this place, not quite a mountain but a sizable hill, just a mile or so from the nearest neighborhood. The sun is getting low and from this hill you can see the lights from the development, and from the town beyond, reflections from the cars, street lamps, lights from the buildings and businesses. It’s all bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun. It’s beautiful. 

“Oh wait, you know what, I think I have a playlist for things like this. I mean, you know, something kinda chill,” Jake says, picking up his phone. The music changes to something smooth, something calm. And they sit there, looking out over it all, letting the music fill the air. The don’t talk, just listen. 

“ _I’m not like you, but I’m a lot like you.  
And still you make me bleed confusion right through. _”__

Rich can feel Jake looking at him, can see it out of the corner of his eye. He tries not to look back, he does, but he’s never been very good at impulse control.

Jake is looking at him, glancing between his eyes and his lips. They’re getting closer, and Rich’s heart is racing, and then. And then...

Rich leans back suddenly. He opens the car door, gets out, walks a few steps, his breathing fast. He can hear the car door open behind him and Jake moving towards him but stopping a few feet away. 

__“Rich, are you okay?” He asks and fuck, he’s concerned, of course he’s concerned, can’t Rich get anything right?_ _

__“I’m okay, it’s all okay, I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-- fuck. Sorry.” Rich’s eyes are trained on the ground, but he turns around and tries to compose himself a bit. He risks a glance up and oh no that was a very bad idea, abort, abort._ _

__There are tears in Jake’s eyes but not enough to fall, just enough to make his face a little pinker, and his gaze more intense. He seems…scared. Nervous._ _

__“Listen, Rich, I know-” Jake starts, but his voice is shaky, and it breaks when he talks. “I know might not be easy for you. I know that you’re upset and I get that but please, please let me into that head of yours. Let me know what you're feeling so I can help you. I understand if you're uncomfortable, that's fine. It's just-- I’ve wanted to be with you all the time since the week I met you. If you don’t want me, that’s fine but please just tell me now. I need to know.”_ _

__Rich can’t look at him, won’t look at him. It’s all too much, this is all too much, it’s so much can it please just stop. He tries to calm his breathing, tries to steady his voice.__

__

__“It’s not that-- I mean of course I want-- It’s not that you--”. Nothing’s coming out right and could something please go his way just once. Rich loses his last bit of composure. “Yeah! Okay, yeah, of course I want to be with you! There’s nothing I want more! But Jake, you have a soulmate. You know you have a soulmate! You can’t just leave them, you have to find them because that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to see them and see color and life will be beautiful and you can forget about me. Because I’m--- I’m--”_ _

__“You’re what?” Jake interrupts. “Wonderful? Amazing? The nicest person I’ve ever met? You give out so much love to everyone you meet, and that’s all you do! You’re hardly ever angry, you’re only sad with reason, you just care so much, and there’s no one in this world more deserving of love than you. You are worth it Richard Goranski.” Rich is standing there, staring down, desperately trying to contain the sobs, his whole body shaking with the effort. Jake walks over to him, wraps his arms around him and holds him. “You’re worth everything,” He whispers into his hair._ _

__They stand there for a while, until the sun has long since gone down, and the dark shades of navy blue have faded into black. The stars are out in full force. Eventually Rich stops crying, and they wind up on lying on the roof of Jake’s car, holding hands and staring at the sky. Rich rolls his head over to look at Jake, his hair, his face, his eyes: everything about him seemed perfect. There’s nowhere Rich would rather be._ _

__Jake seems to know he’s staring, because he rolls his head over too and stares right back. There’s an intensity there that Rich usually would look away from but he doesn’t Instead he’s met with warmth, all consuming warmth. Jake smiles, just a quirk of his lips at first, but then it grows into a full blown grin. Rich can’t help returning it. Jake brings a shaky hand up to stroke his cheek, and Rich almost flinches bc damn his hands are cold. But it’s okay. Everything’s okay._ _

__This time when Jake starts to lean in, Rich matches his movement. Everything feels like it’s moving in slow motion, and then. And then...__

__

__And then their lips touch and everything is great. More than that, everything is amazing. It’s like the world expanded, like Rich can feel every particle, every atom moving over his skin. It’s like every place Jake is connected to Rich is burning: his hand, his mouth, his leg brushing up against Rich’s. Everything’s on fire and Rich couldn’t care less because all that matters is Jake, kissing Jake, holding Jake. It’s explosive. It’s incredible._ _

__They pull away only because they’re out of breath and they pant, fingers in each other’s hair, mouths still just inches apart. Rich clings, desperately to any part of Jake he can touch and Jake does the same. Everything makes sense and yet nothing does. Everything is different than before, but nothing’s changed except them.__

__

__Rich opens his eyes and looks at Jake, who still has his eyes closed, almost...reverent._ _

__“Do you think...” Rich starts, “do you think maybe we’re…”_ _

__“If that doesn’t mean we’re soulmates, then the only other explanation is that we were struck by lightning because holy shit. Holy shit Rich.”_ _

__Rich starts giggling then, which makes Jake giggle, which makes both of them start laughing hysterically. Everything is right. Everything is as it should be._ _

__++++++_ _

__Jake doesn’t want to leave Rich on Sunday, but he knows Rich’s dad is already going to give him shit for being gone all of saturday and he doesn’t want to make it worse. Rich kisses him goodbye as he gets out of the car, and while no kiss after that first one was quite so phenomenal, they aren’t disappointing either. Rich waves him goodbye from the door and Jake can’t believe he’s so in love._ _

__When Monday comes Jake drives Rich to school. They’ve already gone to their respective lockers when Jake is confronted by Jeremy and Michael._ _

__“Hey asshole!”_ _

__Jake didn’t see them coming so the shout startles him. He turns around. Jeremy’s arms are crossed and his jaw set, angry. Michael looks like he’s going to literally murder Jake, who has literally no idea what’s going on._ _

__“...What?” Jake responds hesitantly._ _

__“What the fuck did you do to Rich? He hasn’t talked to us all weekend, we’ve been texting him and calling him. He usually rides with us to school but he didn’t today, so what did you do to him, fucker?”_ _

__Jake blinks. Then he blinks some more. He wants to laugh but that might make Michael pounce so he doesn’t. He can’t stop himself from smiling though, and as he does he can see Rich rounding the corner from his locker to Jake’s._ _

__“Rich! Rich come here.”_ _

__Michael and Jeremy turn to look at Rich, shocked. Rich looks at them, very confused._ _

__Jake puts his arm around him once he gets close enough, still grinning._ _

__“Jeremy, Michael, I’d like you to meet my soulmate: Richard Goranski.”_ _

__They stare, eyes moving between Jake and Rich. Michael turns to Jeremy suddenly._ _

__“I told you he had a soulmate! I fucking told you!”_ _

__“I never said he didn’t! I just thought it would be kinda unlikely, and don’t give me that look, you know how most colored sighted people are!!”_ _

__Michael and Jeremy bicker and argue but with smiles on their faces, fingers pointing at each other and basically yelling but none of it with any real heat or sting. Jake squeezes Rich’s arm, just watching the argument unfold in front of them._ _

__Jenna finds out halfway through first period which meant the school knows by lunch. Jake’s gotten quite a few congratulations, and he still has yet to see Rich since the whole debacle that morning. He gets to the lunch table first, sits down, and immediately is hit in the head._ _

__“Ow??”_ _

__“Jake Dillinger, you found your soulmate over the weekend and you didn’t tell me? Not only that but it was RICH???” Brooke scolds as she sits down._ _

__“...Sorry?” He tries._ _

__“You’re going to have to do better than that,” Chloe says, taking her spot next to Brooke. “And also I’m sorry for what I said on Thursday. I was out of line and I get it now. You weren’t looking for you soulmate because you had Rich. I just can’t believe you guys didn’t get together sooner.”_ _

__“He could already see color! He didn’t think he had a soulmate! I’m not incompetent, the circumstances just sucked,” Jake responds._ _

__“I’m still just bitter that you kept us in radio silence all weekend. You said you weren’t going to do that again Jake!!” Brooke says._ _

__“Yeah, I know. I shouldn’t have done that. But I promise I won’t do it again. It was a very eventful weekend!”_ _

__Eventually everyone shows up, and they talk about Jake and Rich for a bit but it’s not all they talk about. They talk about school and each other and theater. They talk about everything they normally do. Everything’s the same as always, and yet entirely different. Jake can feel Rich leaning on him, can feel his warmth through the sleeves on his shirt. Yeah, everything’s different, but that’s a good thing. It’s the best thing._ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ao3 is a bitch and deleted like an hours worth of edits on this so if anything seems awkward or formatted weird it's bc I didn't catch it when I read through again lolololol ANYWAY I actually made Jake's chill playlist which is here (https://8tracks.com/weirdatlast/stitch-the-gaps-that-destiny-assumed). The first song on it is the song used in the fic and it's Bleed Confusion by The Paper Kites. Just a reminder that I'm on tumblr at justfuckingchillbro if you want to hmu. Also just a reminder that ao3 is garbage at formatting bc it never italicizes in the right spots and it sucks lmao okay bye


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